Safety-stop for vehicles.



I. M. CUNNEEN.` SAFETY STOP FOR VEHICLES. APPLICATION FILED DEC.30. I9I5. 1,237,261. PtentedAug.14,1917.

2 S-HEETS-SHEET I.

0.00b IIIIIIIIIIIIIIW M*" 1.. M. CUNNEEN. SAFETY, STOP FOR VEHICIES. APPLICATION FILED DCJO. 195- 1,237,261. 'Patented Aug. 14; 1917.l

'2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

lwruess' wf/won r ffamesMUumen/ 1 1 "slawdew ATTORNEY i To azz akami-may omi-em.-

Unrlltl) OFFICE.

" Innenraum CUNNEEN, or JERSEY-Vorw, NEW JERSEY, Assrcivon or ,01m-HALF To, MATTHEW J. nn emanen, or .marini c'rrY, NEW JEnsnY.

sum1-'eroi' roaviiHIoLns.

.Be it kn" 'wn that 1, JAMES MICHAELCN,

NEEN, a ,citizen-of the United States, a'nd residentofgJersey City, 1n the county 'of l l Hudson and State of New Jerse have 1nf vented a certain new. and use ul Safety- Stop for Vehicles, of'which the following is a s ecifcatiom i his invention consists of what may properlyy betermed` a disappearing stop or abutment, adaptedto be placed 1n the pathl of avehiclesc as Atti-hold the latter temporarily -lloori lof a drawbridge, or the like, even ina fixed or predetermined' osition. n

-The yrincipal.V object of t e mvention 1s to -providega simple and convenient means' 'whereby o lifeor more vehicles can beheld safely at a certain spot or withln a given space, while .located 4upon 'or transferred `with a movable structure, such vas the p1at-.

Vform of a'lift, the deck of a ferry-boat, the

though subjected meanwhile to dgravitating forces, concussive strains, or mis lrected 1'm-l pulses. It is understood that b preventindg the vehicles from being un uly rolled, slid, or otherwise moved out cftheir assigned places in or upon 'the structures referred to, it will be possible henceforth to avoid numerous accidents, which in the past havebeen attended with loss of life, the

maiming oflimbs, andv destruction of propert V Xnothe'r object, correlated to the above, is

the revision of an 4actuating vmechanism for t e stop, so4 connected or associated with the o eration of the structure carrying the i "has-been elevated for safe vehic e, that it will be impossible to impart movement 4to the structure before the stop arding the vehicle thereomand converse y, to remove the stop and liberate the vehicle prior to the structure being brought to av standstill. Accidents that would result from some prendature attempt to place a vehicle aboard a moving structure,` or from `ill-timed removal of the former from the latter, are

thereby revented.

both theapplication of'thes'top to the ve- -hicle'and the starting of the movable structure, without risk or fear of anyone else interferin'g'with the same. Thus, it will be practicable to centerA and fix upon a sin le person the full responsibility for the ju icious handlingv of the stop, the vehicle, and

v `the Structure.

ts and advantages of the in- Other olli'ec in art be obvious,an dA in part vention wi `be set forth lwliile specifying the various features'of construction and operation hereinafterV contained.

Referring to the drawings hereto annexed, for a detailed description of the invention,-

Figure 1 is a sectional side elevation, showlng part of a freight elevator to which the invention isa plied;

Fi' 2 is an en view of the same, looking` rom the right-hand sideof Fig. 1;

w Fig.` Baise. sectionalp1an taken on the -l1ne 3- -3 of Fig'. l, lookin downward, as :indicated by the arrow; an

Figli .4 is a fragmentar sectional eleva- Vtioii'j'of a modified form o 'the invention.. In these several views, the numeral 11 designates an elevator platform, which 'may be of any approved construction, such, for

instance, as it is found convenient to use in main post-olices, and in buildings of large express companies, for raising orlowering trucks loaded withfmail-bags or parcels, from one floor to another. As shown in Figs. 1 to 3, this platform may constitute thevoor of a car, provided with side walls, as 12, 13, but the latter are not indispensable, since there is no occasion, really, to place safeguards about the trucks in a lateral di rection.

The power employed to the elevator car or platform may be of any preferred kind, and likewise the hoisting mechanism.

For urposes of illustration, the annexed drawings represent a conventional s eces of hydraulic elevatorattachment, inc uding a rope 14, wound partly upon a drum 15, and operated alternately to open and close a water-va1ve (not s hown).v As seen in Fig. 2, the rope 14 is led the' frequired 'distance above and below the car by means of pulleys or sheaves 17, 18, and traverses the platform 'withinreach of the operator in the usual manner, passin also through a length of tubing 19, tow ich further reference willbe made hereinafter, Y Transverse grooves 21, 22 are provided in ica ,y raised vbar ahead, if perchance there is av vthe surface of the floor or platform 1.1. vThese grooves are designed to contain a palr of disappearing stops 23, 24, in such la manner that the platforms surface can be ren- -dered practically even and smooth, owingto stand in the way of the truck thereon and keepit from moving either forward or backward, the distance between the stopsbeing suitably proportioned to the length of space occupied by the truck wheels (or runners) measured in a fore-and-aft direction. Fig. 1 of 'the accompanyin drawings shows one stop (23) leveled, an the other stop (24) elevated, the raised position of the former being also indicated by dotted lines.

Preferably, the stops 23, 24 are made each of a metal bar shaped to fit either of the grooves 21, 22, and fiat-faced so that as the bar lies down in its groove it will be approximately flush with the adjoining surface of the floorl 11, and voffer no appreciable resistance to a truck passingover and across in either direction. However, when turned on edge, the bar is of suiiicient width and thickness Ato block the way of the truck, either in front or rear.

It is understood. that when a truck is moved onto `the platform, the inner or remote stop thereon is rst raised, for example, the bar 24 in Figs. 1 and 3, while the other stop or barajas 23, is kept down. By so doing, the truck may be pushed, pulled, or driven swiftly ove' and across the sublying nearer bar, and willbe safely arrested in its forward movement, by the slight miscalculation of the effort or energy required to have it reach its resting place on the platform. As soon asl the front stop has been touched or approached suiiiciently near by the truck, therear stop is in turn elevated,and the pair of stops then operates to resist the trucks tendency, if any, either v to advance or to recede. The order followed in manipulating the stops, as here explained,

taking the truck olf the platform, depending on the direction in which the -truck is to be removed.

The bars constituting the stops 23, 24 aforesaid are conveniently connected to the platform 11 by means of hinge lpins 26, 27, pro]ect1ng outwardly from their opposite ends and fitted to rock in side bearings, as at28, 29. As shown, these pins and bear'- ings may be located within the grooves 21., 22at the outer edges of the bars, so that the latter with their respective, hinges will appear to be countersunk in the platforms .surface while in their downward' position,

and when the bars are raised, only the inner edges and other free portions thereof will stand outside 'of the grooves, the hinged parts remaining inside or below the surface always.

In order to regulate the movement of the said stops, when raised out of nthe said grooves, their opposite ends are bent up, each at a right angle, as at 31, 32, in such a manner that as the stops are being turned on edge, the angular extremities thereof (like 32 in Figs. 1 to 3) will Contact with the adjacent surface of the platform, and by4 bearing thereon, will prevent the stops from being forced out too far either forward'or rearward, The movement of each stop is thus limited to an arc never. exceeding ninety, degrees,-thereby insuring what is deemed to be the best operative position for either stop in the form of the invention herein exemplified.

Levers 35 and 36 are provided to operate the stops 23 and 24, preferably one at a time, that is, separately and independentlyone of the other. These levers have been shown as fulcrumed in superposed relation and intermediately of their lengths, at 37, 38, Figs. 1 and 3, in an offset portion 39 of the before mentioned tubing 19, which affords them a convenient spport,within reach ofthe person whose duty'it-,is vtodirect the alternate movements'of either the truck orthe platform, pr of both truck and platform. Ac-

cording to the arrangement adopted, the upp'r ever 35 governs the movements o f the said bell-cranks to each other, and to the lever and stop respectively. In a similar manner, the lower lever 36 is operatively 'f connected tok the 'inner stop 24, by means of .oppositely-arrangedbell-cranks 50, 51, 'atrods or links 52, 53, and 54. A s will be noted, the arrangement in both instances is such that a downward movement of either lever will cause a like movement of the stop i may be reversed or not, for the purpose of the tube 19, through which the valve-actuating rope 14 is passed.

The control ofthe water-valve aforesaid `tached to 'the hanger A43, and intermediatel The operative connections l is subordinated to the working of the pair of stops 23, 24, through adaptation of the levers 35, 36, to the function of gripping and releasing, alternately, the rope 14 y l which opens and closes the said valve. This is effected by centering the levers endwise with relation to the rope, that is, the part thereof which runs through the tube v19. To that end, the rope is brought down from one of the pulleys 18, and led into the tube 1 9, through an openingy 57', ina c ap 58 coveri-ng the same.- There the rope 1s recelved guideway 59, so that when eitherlever, 35 or' 36, is placed in a horizontal position, its in ner extremity will reach the rope within the guideway andpress it against the opposite wall of the'tube, 'thus operating -to grip the rope tightlyand keep it from further actuating the water-valve, the latter being then normally closed. 4But, if., the outer end of the lever be raised, 'the chamfered inner end thereof `.will ,recede from the rope and release it;` To f increase the gripping action on the rope, ledges 61,62, 63, are placed across rthe guideway 39, above, between, and below the inner ends of the levers oscillating therein. These ledges are positioned so as toj receive between t em thebights of the Arope that are pressed upon by the inner extremities of the two levers, in the manner indicated, ifor example, at 64 in Fig. 1, and they coact wthrth'e levers and the tube wall in maintaining the rope stationary, owing to added pointsof` friction. With the aid of the said ledges, and proper adjustment, either or both fthelevers will hold. the ro e' fast whenever and as long as required, su ciently to preclude the shifting thereof by any person other than the one authorized to operate the levers on the platform.

In case electric power 1s utilized,

of the hydraulic, to work the elevatocar "orplatform, the o eration thereof can still be rendered secon ary-in point of timetol the placing of the stops, joreither of them,

in a predetermined g position. Then, the levers controlling the stops'may beV put into the electric circuit ofthe elevator, and functioned to make or break thecircuit, as neededto enable either' stop to be raised or lowered in season. An arrangement of this nature is exemplified in Fig. 4, which as before stated represents aV modified embodiment of the invention. As the latter-named figure shows, the electric circuit includes wires 67, 68, entering the tube 19 from the opposite ends' thereofl and respectlvely attached to bindin -posts 69, 70, fon the tube wall that faces t e extension 39, in which to permit moving the car orp are mounted the levers 35, 36. Between the posts 69, 70, are twoswitches, interconnected by a wire7 1, and comprising each a xed contact 72, secured to the said tube wall, and a coacting movable contact 73, carried by a leaf-spring 74. The contacts 73 are normally disengaged from the contacts 72 by the springs 74, but the latter are located in the plane of oscillation of the levers 35,

36, So t at as either lever is operated to raise the stop controlled thereby, its inner end will meet one of the springs and serve to close one of the switches, by bringin the `corresponding contacts together. I the `lever`1s swung in a contrary direction, ,to

lower the stop which it controls, its inner f end moves away from the leaf-spring, and

the switch is opened. Fig. 4 represents one switch as bein open, and the other closed. The two switc es, it.will beobserved, must be -closed in order to complete the electric circuit, and therefore it follows that the elevator car or platform/will neither ascend nor descend until both levershave been os-4 cillated in the samemanner, that is, oper,- ated to force the 1eafsprings 74e, with their movable contacts 73, against the stationary contacts 72, in which 'case the stops 23, 24

are assumed to be in the redliisite position atform safely, with or without a vehicle ontit.

Each one ofthe levers 35,36 is provided with a lock to keep it inftheposition which it should retain,"a fter being swung up or down to raise lor" -lwef the stops 23, 24. This lock incldesia-dogortoothed projection77, whichproje'cts vfrom a 4sleeve 78,

slidable upon the outer end of the lever` (35 or 36) `and is adaptedto enga e a notched platel 7 9, secured to one side o the offset 39 on the -tube 19. There are two notches 81, 82, in the plate 79,' adapted for engagement by the do ,o r l rejection 77, and located to correspon witli the raisedand lowered positions .of the lever, respectively, The sleeve 78 has a slot-and-pin connection Vwith the lever, as at 84, to llmit its move# .ment thereon, and it is further attached to the-outer end of the lever'by' means of a s iral spring 85, which normally slides the dog or toothed proJection into enga ement with either of the notches 81, 82. 'gEither lever, it will-be seen can be easily unlocked from the retaining plate 79, by merely drawing ,the sleeve 78 outward a inst the action of the spring 85, so as todisengage the dog, `or toothed projection. i 4

u described my invention, what cess extending continuously thereacross, of

s eeve inward over the lever and-presses thei a disappearing-stop filling said recess, means 180 venin for positively raising said' stop to place it -in an elevated plane transverse to the direction of movement of the vehicles, and steadying means pertaining to the stop voperating to hold it firmlypositioned in said plane.

2. The combination with Aa surface sub- ,stantially even throughout and a vehicle tol 3. The combination with a surface open for vthe/admission of avehicle and havin recesses extending across the path thereo of level stops-"overlying said recesses, mechanism for swinging out said stops in front and rear of the vehicle respectively, and outwardly dis osed means serving to keep the sto s upright-'with the recesses' interetween them and the vehicle.

4. he Vcombination with a4 surface intended to carry a vehicle and having a continuous recess extending transversely thereof, of 1a stop countersunk in said recess, means for positively raising said stop across the `path,"ofthe vehicle, and abutments at the opppsiteends of the stop limiting the range'ofjaction of said raising means.

5.1Thelcombination with a surface open .to .let alv'ehice pass in and out-and having a space for wemporarily retaining the vehicle, of a pairOf stops for the latter normally reclining in front and in rear thereof, and independently operable actuating means' for each stop whereby either one in said pair can be ralsed at option to bar the passage at the corresponding end of said surface. i o Y 6. The combination"with a surface open to receive a vehicle and having a transverse reces extendin approximately the full width thereof, o a `stop arranged to ylie finish with said surface within said recess, a pivotal connection at one edge of the Y,

ylatter permitting'said stop to be turned at a substantially rightan'gle across the path of the vehicle, an actuator for raising the stop, and means adjacent ltosaid connection operating to hold the upstanding 'stop with its free edge uppermost.

7. The combination with a surface Vadapted to receive a vehicle, of a stop in said surface having a pivotal connection therewith allowing it to recline for the vehicle to passover, and means located above the surface outside the path of the vehicle stop covering 'said' groove and adapted tobe swung therefrom over said surface to bar the way of the vehicle, a device for swinging said stop, and means onthe latter affor resist movement o the vehicle;

9. The combination with a transversely grooved surface designed to receive avehicle, of a stop for theflatter -movable in and out of the groove ofV saidsurface, a

so' v lng it a support upon the surface to lever adapted to move said stop eitherl to raise or lower the same, and a self-,locking device slidable longitudinally of said lever operating to hold it fast after actuation in either direction.

10. The combination with a surface `adapted to receive a. vehicle and formed with grooves at a distance apart approximately equal to the length of the vehicles base, of movable stops in said grooves, and means for raising said stops .transversely of said base 'at opposite ends, including an independently operable lever foreach sto and a self-locking device on each lever slidablelongitudinally thereon so as to maintain it in a predetermined position.

11. The combination with a movable structure'and a vehicle to be carried thereby, of disappearing stops adapted to retain the vehicle 1n a predetermined position on the structure, means for moving the latter, and nlchanism for each stop independently acting to render said'means inoperative untilsaid stop has been raised.

12. The combination with a structure designed to receive a vehicle for transferring it from one place or level to another, of stops respectively adapted to be raised or lowered in the way o f the vehicle prior to` 

